How to use Google Lens visual search on iPhone

Submitted by Fred Straker on March 28, 2018 - 1:02pm

Google has rolled out Google Lens support for iOS users. The addition comes as a built-in feature of the existing Google Photos app. Google Lens makes it possible to extract information from photos, such as details from a business card or event flyer, the history of a landmark or building, or reviews of a book or album. Lens can also aid in the identification of plants, animals and famous paintings.

To begin, make sure Google Photos has been updated to the latest version on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. To search for information about an image in your photo library follow these steps:

Open Google Photos

If prompted, give the app permission to access photos on your device

Tap Photos and select an image to scan

Tap the Google Lens icon

Google will read the photo, tap X if you wish to cancel

If available, search results will appear

Selecting a search result may ask which web browser to use

After browsing search results, tap Done to return to Google Photos

Tapping "Text selection" will automatically extract words from the image

Once text is identified, select text and choose an option to Search, Copy or Share